The Power of Machiavelli the Prince Essay - 858 Words

Nowadays, it is politically impossible to commit to paper a training guide for leaders. There are innumerable detractors to any possible stance or strategy a leader might adopt. As a result of this, all training must take place behind closed doors, far from the prying eyes and ears of the news media or the public. But this has not always been the case. Niccolà ² Machiavelli was brave enough to give the leaders of his day a how-to guide. In this work, The Qualities of a Prince, we are given a point-by-point description of what a leader should do to effectively lead his country. Machiavelli explains that, because leadership is (obviously) a position of command, [war] is the only profession which benefits one who commands. (p. 33)†¦show more content†¦What they must now do, is gain all knowledge of the land left to them, so as not to loose it. This is wonderful, and I will not be the one to say that knowledge of terrain is unimportant. But, it stands to reason that the lay of the land will do a country little good if there is no need to defend it. Machiavellis logic is perfect for the situation of the time. It would do little good to know defense if peace runs as rampant as war did. If we prepared peace, there would be no need to know defense. There is also the statement that, to know peace, you must prepare war. Machiavel li states this, again, as he lives through a ravaged northern Italy and a failing economy. If the Medicis had, in some way, shape or form prepared just the slightest for these wars, there would be (certainly) less of a problem. Rather, the Medicis focused on a strong economy, (meaning they made more money) thinking nothing of war. When war came, they were forced to raise taxes for defense purposes. Machiavelli addresses the Medicis faults in leadership by stating what should be done. The Cold War is a prime example of preparation for wars failure. The United States and the USSR were running a huge arms race against each other. Rather than prosper, as Machiavellis statement describes, the US fell into debt and the economy wentShow MoreRelatedMachiavelli and Gossip Girl1497 Words   |  6 Pages Machiavelli’s The Prince is a guide written for the ruling class on how to maintain power, however, royalty is no longer a characteristic that belongs only to a monarch. In The Prince, Machiavelli targets the prince and all other royalty, but today his work may be used as a social critique of upper class society. Thus, a popular television show depicting Manhattan’s elite governed by social media blasts, is no coincidence. It is evident that the creators of the popular television show Gossip GirlRead MoreThe Source of a Princes Happiness and Misery in Augustine’s City of God and Aquinas’s On Kingship and Machiavelis The Prince1459 Words   |  6 PagesAugustine’s City of God and Aquinas’s On Kingship ideas on how a prince should rule contrast with Niccolo Machiavelli’s described The Prince. Augustine breaks down the true source of a prince’s happiness as revolving around God while Machiavelli focuses on the prince’s material lusts. In On Kingship, Aquinas describes the sources of a prince’s misery being suspicion, jealousy and lust. Machiavelli disagrees, saying those emotions makes a prince happy. 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The two most important Machiavellian principles that Hitler used were winning the people and how he dealt with cruelty andRead More Niccolo Machiavellis The Prince Essay1060 Words   |  5 PagesNiccolo Machiavellis The Prince Niccolo Machiavellis The Prince examines the nature of power and his views of power are still somewhat in existence today. Ill discuss this in this essay, emphasizing the following theses. Machiavelli discusses power over the people, dictatorial power, and power with people, shared power. While it is possible for power with to attain greater prevalence in society, it will not completely eliminate power over. In The Prince, Machiavelli discusses two distinct groupsRead More Machiavelli Essay953 Words   |  4 PagesThe Prince MAJOR THEME Machiavelli had a true and abiding love for Florence. He wanted to make Florence great and also find himself a job, as he lost his when the Medici family came into power. He dedicated his book on political science, The Prince, to Lorenzo Medici in the hopes that Lorenzo would be impressed and offer him a job. However, Lorenzo ignored the book and Machiavelli. The Prince is a didactic examination of political power, how to achieve it, maintain it, and expand it. MachiavelliRead MoreAcquiring Political Power under a Principality Essay1170 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Prince, Machiavelli writes his analysis of how to acquire and sustain political power under a principality. It is his understanding of human nature and the ability to maintain control over people that make up the base for all of the other theories he puts forth. Machiavelli is able to recognize what it takes to balance the citizens somewhere between happy and scared, so to keep them from revolting while appearing united and strong discouraging others form invading. Thucydides shares a similarRead MoreNiccolo Machiavelli s The Prince1719 Words   |  7 PagesMachiavelli’s, The Prince, a book written by Niccolà ² Machiavelli, is a read that most people wouldn’t prefer to read as a first option but in defense to Niccolo, it brings out many themes such as Goodwil l and Hatred, Free will, and Human Nature. â€Å"It is known from his personal correspondence that The Prince was written during 1513, the year after the Medici took control of Florence, and a few months after Machiavelli s arrest, torture, and banishment by the Medici regime† (Bio.com). The novel wasRead MoreEssay on Machiavellis The Prince: Politics, War, and Human Nature1334 Words   |  6 PagesMachiavellis The Prince: Politics, War, and Human Nature [I]t is necessary for a prince to know well how to use the beast and the man. (Machiavelli, The Prince, p. 69[1]). In this swift blow, Niccolà ² Machiavelli seems to strike down many visions of morality put up on pedestals by thinkers before his time. He doesnt turn to God or to some sort of common good for his political morality. Instead, he turns to the individual?more specifically, self-preservation in a position of power. Machiavellis